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C'mon. He might be exaggerating a bit, but it's a valid criticism nonetheless. And I said this even though I did like the episode.

It's a valid opinion, but I'm not sure that just not liking a hero being presented as a hero in a story about a hero (and a heroine) is all that useful as "criticism". It's not like there isn't a long history of recognized fiction in many cultures about heroes. And, as I said above, most of the plot elements he is complaining about were clearly foreshadowed in the story as well (like, being the player with the fastest reaction time, figuring out who Heathcliff really was, having a chance to duel the villain, and even being able to win -- he was allowed to win). I suppose there are a few things that come across as bit convenient in this episode, but it's a bit too exaggerated to be taken as "valid criticism". It's really just a rant.

As to why Asuna is still alive. Any number of reasons can be made up, mercy, breaking the game, ect. Even though rationally, you can try to put the game up to a perfect pedestal with ironclad rules, but the show showed enough instances where 'emotion' or whatever can over-ride aspects of it.

Anyway, decent end to the whole thing. Kayaba's explanation for the whole thing as to why he did it was dumb and totally bs.

I thought it was hilarious how he let Kirito and Asuna think they were still gonna die anyway. That was HeartSeed level of trolling.

1. Kirito told to the Admin that Asuna cant kill herself.. which she did in this case..
2. Do you remember the item which can revieve players some seconds after their dead? Maybe there a small time after the ingame dead and the real dead... Since the game ended while Asuna was in "that" time, she didint die.

Like people have said (myself included), we can only assume that there's a time limit of 10 seconds, if not more, before people actually die in real life after dying in SAO. Kirito managed to land a hit on Heathcliff, which reduced his HP to 0, ending the game and freeing everybody. As for why Asuna survived, there're multiple interpretations: one being that Heathcliff protected her using Immortal status, and another being that Kirito managed to defeat Heathcliff within 10 seconds after her "death".

Interpretations and assumptions aren't good enough. I need an actual legitimate reason or explanation for these things. If it comes later on in the story, then alright, but I don't have very high hopes for that at the moment.

Also how was Kirito able to move his arms after his HP hit 0? Even if there was that delay you mention, he should have been a totally immobile state even after his HP was gone.

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I think most of the plot threads over the course of the series were closed in this episode. Are there further unexplained anomalies?

Read above statement.

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Could you clarify? I think the tension between this being a game and being reality was explored quite handily in the last episode, and this episode continues that theme and brings it to a conclusion. I didn't see a contradiction... but maybe I'm missing something.

The scene near the start of episode 5 with Kirito sleeping underneath that tree is largely what I'm referring to.

Anyway the only not explained thing is kirito survival.
He got yellow person showing up in his death scene and yellow eyes. Imo it was Yui ghost that actually did save him. Unless he got some magical *power of love* that made his eyes glow yellow.

he was allowed to win). I suppose there are a few things that come across as bit convenient in this episode, but it's a bit too exaggerated to be taken as "valid criticism". It's really just a rant.

A bit convenient? Asuna breaks free of her paralysis on her own, for example, and even though Kayaba admits he didn't even program a way to break free of it, all he has to say about is "I guess these things happen sometimes".

That's not convenient, that's all out ass-pull. At most you could explain it as the power of love or something like that but that's still pretty out there, specially for this setting.

I personally don't mind because I knew what I was getting into when I started watching, but I can absolutely understand if someone can't except that sort of things so easily. So yeah, I think Duckroll has a point.

The scene near the start of episode 5 with Kirito sleeping underneath that tree is
largely what I'm referring to.

But we've had 8 episodes of development between now and then to develop and progress that idea. We see how Kirito's philosophy affects Asuna which culminates in their marriage, and then how they live their life in Aincrad (on their Honeymoon), and then how the situation with Yui (and situations that follow) remind them that they actually can't stay on this world forever, culimating in Episode 13 with the determination to clear the game that got resolved in this episode.

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Originally Posted by SilverSyko

Also how was Kirito able to move his arms after his HP hit 0? Even if there was that delay you mention, he should have been a totally immobile state even after his HP was gone.

It seems that Kayaba was surprised by this too, given his reaction, but he accepted it. But we did see other people take actions after their HP hit zero (moving their arms and the like) -- just having the strength to lift a weapon is probably beyond the norm. He did indeed say that the he didn't expect people would exceed the expected limits of his programming (to "surpass the laws of his own world").

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Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

A bit convenient? Asuna breaks free of her paralysis on her own, for example, and even though Kayaba admits he didn't even program a way to break free of it, all he has to say about is "I guess these things happen sometimes".

That's not convenient, that's all out ass-pull. At most you could explain it as the power of love or something like that but that's still pretty out there, specially for this setting.

I think it was pretty clear (particularly based on his tone) that he allowed the paralysis to wear off of Asuna, indirectly resulting in her death. This is why Kirito got so upset after hearing his nonchalant "I guess things happen" explanation. I think that explanation was just a lie. He didn't program the paralysis to be able to be broken free from, which (I would argue) therefore means he did it.

Basically if you take that whole section of dialogue and just treat is as a sarcastic statement (which is what was conveyed in the tone), I think it all makes sense.

Half of my time after Kirito and Asuna's 'death' was spent saying "How are they still talking to Kayaba - aren't they all dead?"

Seriously, at the start of the episode (purely from the title), I had a feeling the game would clear, in a way (didn't expect Heathcliff to be Kayaba mind ) - but the survival of Kazuto (and potentially Asuna?) was something I didn't expect.

Never thought I'd say this, but it brought me to tears - joy or despair, I'm still not sure. But fair play to SAO for pulling this off - better off this kind of 'trolling' than one of those series where both survive and they live happily ever after.

Kirito and Asuna's situation is meant to be left unexplained. It doesn't matter how they did it, the important thing is that both of them had beaten the game of Sword Art Online.

Kayaba had said it himself that he was satisfied from seeing that the law of his own world was broken. Asuna cancelled the paralysis by herself, and Kirito didn't die when he was killed, that's what it means to "beat the game", to overcome the constrain of the system, surpassing its law, breaking something that should not have been possible to be broken.

It's because both Kirito and Asuna had done it that Kayaba had congratulated both of them for beating the game. Kirito skewering Kayaba at the end was just a bonus reward, not the achievement itself.